cuci cuci coo-eng

moving posts!

2011-11-14T11:19:00.001+01:00

in may i decided to join my two blogs, which were really just the italian and english versions of the same thing. i am now in the verrrrrry slooooooow process of moving the individual posts previous to may 2011 from the english side to the bilingual (ex-italian) side. so if you find that any posts you've bookmarked are missing, this is why! just click on the link in each post to find its new home! :) lisa

moved, part II

2011-05-20T11:48:00.001+02:00

just to inform anyone who missed the first notice: i’ve moved my english language blog of cucicucicoo and joined it to my italian language one. please update the address and hope to see you there!

:) lisa

cucicucicoo-eng has moved!!

2011-05-13T21:01:00.001+02:00

hi all! i am attempting to get back into blogging (baby permitting, of course!), but decided to tackle two things that bothered me about this blog. 1) the fact that there are actually two separate blogs, this one in english and the one in italian and 2) this old jumbled layout.

so i will now be posting bilingual entries onto the newly renovated (though still not completely) italian side of this blog. so please update your bookmarks, following, rss, etc etc and go check out my latest entry! hope to see you there! :) lisa

actually, you’re wrong, dear litti!!

2011-03-10T13:49:00.002+01:00

this post has been moved here!

a wonderful gift!

2010-12-29T20:45:00.004+01:00

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cucicucicoo is closing…SALE! 15% off!!!

2010-12-10T09:39:00.001+01:00

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kids’ DIY gifts: portrait bookmarks

2010-12-04T13:36:00.001+01:00

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super lucky!

2010-12-02T12:31:00.001+01:00

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december 1st…break out those advent calendars!

2010-12-01T11:18:00.001+01:00

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oh, come on!

2010-11-25T09:25:00.001+01:00

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new necklace with melon seeds

2010-11-22T11:11:00.001+01:00

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pane, amore e creatività’s calendar giveaway

2010-11-17T10:58:00.001+01:00

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old bedsheets saved from the bin!

2010-11-12T11:26:00.002+01:00

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bananas aren’t just for eating

2010-11-06T17:40:00.002+01:00

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distances

2010-11-02T19:34:00.002+01:00

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diapers, diapers, diapers (and nappies)!

2010-10-28T09:46:00.001+02:00

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melon seed jewelry

2010-10-24T09:24:00.001+02:00

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wrap around maternity top

2010-10-22T10:29:00.002+02:00

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inserts for pocket diapers

2010-10-22T10:12:00.002+02:00

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the wonders of being a mamma

2010-10-20T10:29:00.001+02:00

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diy maternity pants

2010-10-13T18:45:00.001+02:00

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vote: carrying children on vacation

2010-10-11T10:23:00.001+02:00

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obama in rolling stone

2010-10-10T09:33:00.001+02:00

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christmas already?!

2010-10-07T09:13:00.001+02:00

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from bike to bag

2010-10-02T09:04:00.001+02:00

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you’ve got mail!

2010-09-30T10:00:00.001+02:00

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charity: giving back those “lost” days

2010-09-22T09:05:00.001+02:00

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swap ready to go!

2010-09-21T13:26:00.001+02:00

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make your own hair elastics

2010-09-17T12:04:00.002+02:00

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refashioning a tent-shirt

2010-09-13T09:00:00.001+02:00

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a difficult return

2010-09-10T13:14:00.002+02:00

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on vacation!

2010-07-23T10:24:00.001+02:00

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contest: carrying children on vacation!

2010-07-21T10:23:00.002+02:00

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yah for me!

2010-07-18T08:49:00.001+02:00

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vinegar and baking soda

2010-07-07T11:41:00.002+02:00

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end of the year

2010-06-26T09:00:00.001+02:00

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banana bread

2010-06-23T16:59:00.002+02:00

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wikio top blog

2010-06-19T12:58:00.002+02:00

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zucchini ribbons

2010-06-17T11:01:00.002+02:00

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“insalata avenale”

2010-06-08T09:20:00.002+02:00

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tomato soup

2010-06-05T11:54:00.002+02:00

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recycled shirt bath mat

2010-05-22T10:08:00.001+02:00

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making yarn from old t-shirts

2010-05-17T11:51:00.001+02:00

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recycled paper baskets: take 1 and take 2

2010-05-12T11:24:00.001+02:00

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a bit about ecological craft books

2010-05-10T10:17:00.002+02:00

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how to sew corners on a bed sheet

2010-04-27T09:00:00.001+02:00

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thank you for your help!

2010-04-25T16:47:00.002+02:00

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charity: donate menstrual pads

2010-04-19T14:12:00.002+02:00

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cucicucicoo goes to rome!

2010-04-15T11:05:00.001+02:00

this weekend i’ll be participating in a national demonstration of “genuino clandestino” in rome. groups of farmers and artisans from all over italy will get together to renounce the laws favoring large industries and making it impossible for small producers to get by. saturday, after the terraTERRA market, there will be a national assembly of producers and consumers, 4:30 pm, c.s.a. la torre, via bertero 13, rome, and a dinner following.

sunday april 18, on the other hand, from 10 am to 5 pm there will be another terraTERRA market with guests from markets from all over the country, including my own ragnatela, with its farmers and producers of self-certified organic foods and artisans from the region of campania. and obviously, i will be there too (but only during the assembly saturday and the market sunday, not the market on saturday) with my stand of cloth menstrual pads and diapers, as well as my other alternatives to disposable products. besides the market, there will also be workshops, music, meetings and other fun.

c.s.o.a. forte prenestino

via f. delpino – centocelle - roma

come on, come and find me! i’d love to meet some of my internet friends in person! and what’s more, i’m offering a 10% discount to anyone who tells me that they read this on my blog! i’ll be expecting you!

read the brochure or check out terraTERRA’s blog or the ragnatela’s for more information on the initiative.

honestly!

2010-04-12T12:30:00.001+02:00

many thanks to mamma c from nati per dilinquere for this nice award! i’m not sure if this really should be an award just for scrapbooking bloggers, but i’ll take it anyway because i work with other scraps: fabric scraps, which i always try to reuse and not throw away.

i’d seen this award around and it always struck me for its resemblance to an illustration that i’ve always liked, “we can do it!” dating from the second world war in the united states. even if it isn’t really her, many people call this woman rosie the riveter, the figure of the female who took over the traditionally male jobs during american soldiers’ absense. it was a time that led many women to realize that their world didn’t have to be restricted to household things, but that they were capable of many other things outside the home.

anyway, even though i’m quite happy to be honored with this award, i’m going to be a little lazy with the excuse that i nominated 10 other bloggers just 10 days ago. and then today is my darling husband’s 50th birthday so i really should be spending my time doing stuff for him! so i’m just going to take the easy way out and award it to anyone who’s reading this. :)

the rules of this award are that the recipients must write 10 things that they wouldn’t have written about themselves otherwise. honestly! i’m not sure if i can think of 10 “secret” things, but i’ll give it my best shot!

i’m desperate to have another baby, preferably a girl, though i obviously wouldn’t send a boy back. i already have a 3 1/2 year old girl and i lost a pregnancy a year and a half ago. next month he would’ve turned one and it makes me really sad to think about it, especially now that my little girl keeps asking for “a baby.”
even though i’m desperate for another baby, i’m also scared that i wouldn’t be capable of really dealing with the situation with two kids and maybe this is why i haven’t been able to have another.
i’m a sort of pseudo-feminist. (this comes to mind after what i wrote above.) it’s obviously very important that women now have in theory all the rights and opportunities that men do (in theory. you could obviously debate this). however women now have not only work responsibilities but also their domestic duties, because things haven’t changed to the point that men help out all that much with them. (ok, i know that’s a stereotype and many men DO help out, but usually it’s a lot less than women. i’m very lucky to have a husband that helps a lot, mostly with cooking and shopping.) anyway, sometimes i feel like women just got screwed over by feminism…though luckily not all the time!
i’m a sleep addict. i love being in bed and sleeping. if i don’t sleep at least 7 hours, i turn into a monster!
i’m super lazy when it comes to cleaning up the house. not only is there a continuous mess, it’s almost always hideously filthy. it’s just that there’s always something better to do that tidying and cleaning up!
i’m becoming a vegetarian! and not even really as a conscious choice. bit by bit, different types of meat start disgusting me so much that i can’t even choke them down. first sausages, then slices of meat, then even meatballs. i’m pretty happy about it because it’s something i’d wanted to do but i couldn’t seem to give up some things. the one thing i’m sorry about is giving up american-style hamburgers. i love them so much. we’ll see in my next trip to the US if i manage to eat them or not.
i admit that i never miss an episode of tutti pazzi per amore (even though the second season is by far inferior to the first one) and x-factor (even though i doubt i’ll continue watching it if the controversial morgan doesn’t participate in it anymore).
i’ve suffered from episodes of depression since i was at least 14. bit by bit i’m finding inner peace, thanks to lots of books, lots of love, yoga, my homeopath and a lot of effort on my part.
i wish i could be better at following other blogs, but i find it really overwhelming because there are so many that i like. i alreayd find it hard to find time to write here (when really i’m writing two blogs, this one and the original one in italian).
i always think that i’m very banal.

wow, i did it! when i wrote this originally on the italian side of my blog, i said i wouldn’t re-read it because i’d be tempted to just not publish this. but hey! i even translated it all and i’m still publishing it! go me! a hug to you all!

more freezer paper stencils

2010-04-10T17:30:00.000+02:00

i told you it was addictive!! a few weeks ago i wrote a tutorial on doing freezer paper stencils on t-shirts with this warning. and you know what i did? i discovered kiabi (a sort of european old navy), took advantage of the good prices and bought a bunch of colored t-shirts for my daughter and me with the intention of decorating them with this technique. and i had a ball!

for me i did felix the cat (copying the image directly from the monitor from this website)

and the sign prohibiting any type of automobile from entering used in italian traffic signs

and for my little sweetie:

cherries(from here)

a nice bicycle (“borrowing” the picture from the beer glasses that i bought on etsy). for this one i used glitter fabric paint that i bought last summer at the recycle shop at the children’s museum in boston, which i wrote about another time, too.

and a nice little carrot (from here)

can i ask your opinion on something? i wanted to do another t-shirt stencil using scrabble tiles. looking around online, i found different photos of this stencil on the facade of a building which just cracked me up. i enlarged the image and traced it out (fixing the incorrect values for each letter) and was about to start cutting it out when i realized… if i put this picture on a t-shirt, it would be right over my boobs, obviously. but it’s not like i want to say that i made people look at my boobs because i’m super sexy with a fab bod or something, because anyone who’s ever seen me knows that’s absolutely not the case! and even if it were, it’s not like i would go around bragging about it. i certainly don’t want to go around asking people to check out my body. hmmm…i have a feeling i just need to get over this phrase and figure out something else to write with scrabble letters. ideas?

from puzzle mats to corkboards

2010-04-03T18:37:00.000+02:00

last week i made stamps from the letters from one of those little foam letter puzzles and i wondered how to use up the remaining foam pieces. i got some good ideas from my readers, but in the end i made a little “cork” board for my daughter, completely from upcycled materials, obviously!

i put the pieces together (spelling the word “love” in the center, even though i don’t know how much anyone really notices it). then i cut out a backing from a cereal box (i just love using cereal boxes for so many things!) and i glued a piece of black construction paper on top. i spread some glue on the backs of the puzzle pieces and placed them (all in one piece) on the black surface. i put some books on top to keep it flat while it dried.

for the hook i bent a twist tie and attached it with some black electrical tape…

…and there you have it! happy easter to all of you!

“happy 101” award

2010-04-02T13:09:00.000+02:00

it’s always so nice to get an award from a fellow blogger! i got this one from yummymummy, a wonderful mamma-downshifter who has discovered the joy of leaving her career to embrace a more simple life.

so, the first 10 things that come to mind that make me happy are:

being with my little girl while we do crafts, play or simply watch a movie together
my dear husband’s great intelligence and sensitivity
looking at the end product of a sewing (or other type of) project and feeling the satisfaction of having created it
being on my balcony with my hands dirty with potting soil while i repot and fix up my plants
laying down outside in the spring sun (or even on our living room couch in the sun that comes in from our balcony!)
listening to my darling daughter while she talks and makes up stories and situations with her amazing creativity
reading all types of books
listening to all types of music (and dancing to it when nobody’s looking!)
to be able to talk openly and honestly with my closest friends
looking at something that i’m about to throw in the trash and thinking of a way to upcycle it

it’s pretty tough to choose just 10 bloggers to pass this award on to, but here they are, all of them amazingly creative italian bloggers:

the winners must

list 10 things that make them happy
pass the award on to another 10 blogger friends
tell the winners that you think they’re great

thank you all for your great creativity and ideas that make this world a better place! i’m looking forward to seeing who you nominate and what makes you happy!

from puzzle mats to stamps

2010-03-25T13:17:00.001+01:00

last month i saw this post on pane, amore e creatività and it had some bad news: the foam used for those little or huge letter and number puzzle mats contains toxic substances! (for more information, in italian, sorry, you can look here and here.) yikes! and to think that my little girl has two of these things: a big one that i got her when she was one because her physical therapist had suggested i have her practice walking on it (my daughter did physical therapy every day for many months because of a gross motor delay) and a little one i bought her to use on the many airplanes we took travelling last summer.

luckily, linda let us all know not only of the danger lurking in these toys but also of a fun solution to not have to dump the little puzzles in the trash: make them into stamps! this idea immediately appealed to me because we love stamps in our house (and i’d already written about how to make do-it-yourself stamps here and here). but the thing that didn’t totally convince me about the original idea was the use of wooden blocks as stamp backers. so i thought of a way to make this project even more recylcing-friendly: use bottle caps!

we’ve been free of horrible plastic water bottles for a while now by having water in glass bottles delivered to our door and the empties collected to reuse. (i would love to buy a water purifier for our kitchen faucet, but there are issues with strange deposits in our apartment building’s water tank, so it still wouldn’t be very healthy to drink.) i was holding onto the caps for another recycling project (which i’ll write about sometime in the future) and i had plenty extra for these stamps. it really would’ve been better to use those bigger plastic caps that here in italy you find on bottles of milk but i didn’t have any because we only get non-dairy milks which come in those awful tetrapacks (i have some ideas of how to recycle those, too!).

first of all, take the letter or number from the puzzle, put a bit of glue on the top side and attach it to the cap. i used my beloved UHU extra gel, a glue which seems to work on everything. if you use a glue like this on a non-absorbent surface (such as a metal cap) do this: put the glue on the piece and then rub it on the bottle cap to spread the glue out nicely on both. take the piece off and let the glue dry a little bit. just the time it takes to do this again with another letter and cap is enough. then put the letter back on again. if the glue had dried a little, it will stick much better.

don’t forget that the letter or number will be backwards on the cap. if you put it the right side up, you’ll get a finished stamped print that you’ll have to read in the mirror, à la leonardo da vinci.

you can also use the spaces inside the letters. the inside of the O is good for a period (or an exclamation point with the I) and the inside of the Q makes a good comma.

while you’re waiting for the glue to dry all the way, you can look at just how cool your new stamps are!

and when they’re dry, have a blast!

now i just need to figure out what to do with the shapes left that were outside the letters and the big puzzle. i think i’m going to make a sort of corkboard with the big pieces. any other ideas?

***UPDATE*** here’s what i ended up doing with the shapes left over from the stamps.

19 march: the first ray of hope?

2010-03-19T11:02:00.001+01:00

today, march 19, is a very important day. not just because here in italy it’s father’s day (happy father’s day, all you dads!). nor because it’s the feast of saint joseph (the father of all fathers. auguri to all you josephs, josephinas, giuseppes and giuseppinas!). it’s important because march 19, 1994 don peppe diana, a priest who openly spoke and wrote against all mafias, on his saint’s day, was murdered while he was getting ready to celebrate mass inside his church in casal di principe, hub of activity of the camorra, the neapolitan mafia. anyone who read gomorra will remember it.

16 years later, march 19, 2010, an official regional holiday in memory of don peppe is being celebrated for the first time. all the schools in campania (the region of southern italy comprising the provinces of naples, caserta, salerno, benevento and avellino) are closed today. i myself couldn’t care less about the long weekend, but i am very heartened at this new annual holiday denouncing this assassination and the camorra in general, an incredibly important occasion. it gives me hope that perhaps slowly slowly slowly something teeny tiny might be starting to change.

people who don’t live here generally don’t realize that the camorra and all mafias are VERY real. i cringe every time i see somebody on facebook who plays mafia wars, because they just have no idea how many people REALLY are killed. or how entwined the mafia is in local and national (and probably international) politics. or in how many ways the activities of regular people are suppressed. or how many things in the day-to-day lives of we innocent bystanders are affected by the camorra. life here in southern italy can get very hard because of it. and it’s time, after way too many years, to start changing something. let’s keep our fingers crossed.

**i was just contacted by another italian blogger friend who let me know that she too had written about this important event. if you understand italian, take a look.**

freezer paper stenciling on t-shirts

2010-03-17T14:38:00.000+01:00

i’ve seen a lot of tutorials on this tecnique on american blogs and i’ve been wanting to try it out for a long time. i first tried it out with one of my daughter’s t-shirts using an image of an audio cassette that i found with google images. (she had no idea what the walkman on one of my husband’s t-shirts was, which seemed absolutely crazy, especially in a family that loves music as much as ours!) the only problem is that i positioned it a bit low on the shirt, but it’s no biggie.

in my opinion, this technique is insanely cool and i immediately became addicted. seeing as father’s day is coming up this friday (at least in italy it is!), i decided to make my hubby a t-shirt with a portrait our darling sofia drew of him. and i couldn’t not make up a tutorial!

before, though, i’d like to say a few words about freezer paper. it’s very similar to wax paper, but it’s waxy only on one side. in the US you can find it in the supermarket with all the other wax paper, aluminum foil and plastic wrap. unfortunately, i’ve never found it in italy, though i found a tutorial by an italian blogger for another use of this paper who explains that you can also use the paper you get from the butcher. i don’t know because i haven’t bought meat in quite a while. the important thing is that one side is waxy and the other is like normal paper.

***WARNING*** this technique is highly addictive. after you try it once, none of your clothes will be safe!

1. first of all, choose an image. you can use a simple drawing or do a google images search for “(whatever you want) stencil.” this is my daughter’s original drawing.

2. if you have a hard copy of the image, cut a piece of freezer paper a bit larger than the image and use masking tape to attach it on top, the waxy side downwards. trace the image onto the freezer paper. you can also put it against a window to see better. on the other hand, if you have an image on the computer, use a visualization program to enlarge it to the right size for your project. then put the freezer paper directly on the monitor (tilting the monitor, if possible) to trace it.

3. here’s the traced image. it’s a good idea to fill in the parts that you want to be painted with pencil so you won’t mess up when you cut it out. i didn’t do this with this portrait, but i did do it with the cassette tape, which was more complicated.

4. now you cut. use a very sharp box cutter or whatever other cutting tool you have and cut out the parts that you filled in with pencil which will become the printed image. if your image is at all complex, there will be little “islands” left, for example, in the portrait above, the whites of the eyes, face, ears and other tiny components. don’t throw them away! put them aside, preferably laying them out on a flat surface as they go in the image so you can take them as you need them and remember where they actually go.

5. get out your ironing board and iron. put the iron on the hottest setting, without steam. lay out the t-shirt (which you’ve already washed) on the ironing board and put the first part of the stencil (preferably the outermost part) where you want it on the fabric, again with the waxy part down. when you’re sure it’s positioned how you want it, iron it on a few seconds, fixing the paper to the fabric.

6. start putting the other pieces in place, ironing each one as you go. at this stage, the portrait is a bit freaky looking…

7. …but luckily when everything’s in place, we can once again recognize our image. it really helps to use tweezers to pick up and position the teeny tiny pieces. when everything’s in place, iron the whole thing again, making sure that all the edges are well-attached to the fabric.

8. get out your fabric paint. i used these ones by marabu, which are water-based and good quality. cut a piece of regular wax (or freezer)paper and put it under the t-shirt where the stencil is so that the paint doesn’t seep through to the back of the shirt or whatever you have underneath (in my case, still the ironing board).

9. use a rigid brush to fill in the spaces with paint, being sure to spread it well and not to go over the outer edges of the freezer paper (as i accidentally did under the portrait’s chin). if your brand of fabric paint has specific instructions, follow them.

10. this is the hardest part: you need to wait until it’s completely dried. i know you want to see how it came out, but please resist! it’s in your best interest to wait for it to dry for quite a few hours and then even do a second coat, being very careful not to overlook tiny spots without color and that the paint goes all the way to all the edges of the spaces. then it’s best if you let it dry completely during the night, when hopefully you’ll be sleeping and won’t be tempted to peek under the paper.

11. the day after, or whenever it’s totally dry, you can finally take off the freezer paper. use your tweezers to remove the smaller pieces.

12. and there it is! how cute!

13. but hold on a second, you’re not done yet! if you try to skip the last step, you’ll be VERY sorry the first time you wash your t-shirt and find that all your efforts have been quite literally washed away. first, remove the wax paper underneath the shirt. then place a thin cloth over the image and iron it on hot without steam for 5 minutes, or however your paint instructs, to fix the image.

14. now admire how nicely it turned out and wear it expecting all those compliments for your hard work! i can’t wait to give my hubby this shirt for father’s day! i know he’ll be psyched!

diy coat rack

2010-03-15T16:04:00.001+01:00

i’ve had this pair of cute knobs for 3 years and i always knew that i wanted to make my daughter a little coat rack with them, but seeing as i’m a bit useless with a saw, i kept on putting it off…and off…and off…and finally this week i made it!

despite my fears of sawing the wood down to the right size, this project is really easy and i’m pretty sure that every family needs more space to hang up their kids’ coats, scarves, bags, etc. these nice little knobs are from my friend’s mother’s business, but you can just get some unfinished wood ones and paint them yourself or use antique or other interesting ones that you have lying around.

you need to get a piece of wood that isn’t too wide and drill a hole for each knob that you’ll be putting on it. then paint the wood, screw on the knobs from the back side of the wood, and there you have it!

i’m sure the most intelligent way to hang it up would be with fischers, but seeing as we’ll probably be changing around the furniture soon with the arrival of the “big girl bed,” i didn’t really feel like making any extra big holes in the walls. so i just used those things that you attach to the back of frames to hang them up. and that works just fine!

donne con le gonne: mother awareness

2010-03-06T12:51:00.001+01:00

i’ve already written lots of times about the self-production market “la ragnatela” which i particpate in each month in the province of naples. one of the things i really like about this event is the meeting with donne con le gonne (women with skirts).

this is a group of mothers who refuse to accept the rules and ways of our society without thinking. they exchange ideas regarding the different phases of motherhood and the alternatives to the more traditional practices, such as the use of the baby sling and cloth diapers (or even how to go without diapers at all), alternative birth methods and bringing up children. there is also an exchange of toys and clothing.

at this month’s ragnatela, there will also be the viewing of the film il rito della nascita, which is about birthing in a way which respects both mother and child according to the world health organization.

micòl, founder of the group and professional consultant of sling usage, talks about the group’s vision:

we are voluntary mothers who exchange our time to help those women who wish to share their experiences regarding motherhood, pregnancy, birth, the post-partum period and breastfeeding, open to the exchange of different cultures and feminine expression in an atmosphere of openness, support and participation.

we spread a new culture of maternity, birth and early childhood through themed meetings and informal social situations.

we hope to be a point of reference for those women who want to live their maternity and birthing process as a protagonist, with respect for their own decisions, individuality and culture.

we believe in the importance of a birthing process which respects physiological rhythms, intimacy and the emotional needs of the couple and the child, as indicated by the World Health Organization.

donne con le gonne also organizes meetings and courses on cloth diapers, infant massage, the use of the sling carrier, natural hygiene (life without diapers) and an exchange of children’s clothes and accessories.

for more information about the group of about the use of the sling carrier, contact micòl at (+39) 3333187086 or donneconlegonne@gmail.com.

ragnatela self-production: march 2010

2010-03-06T12:25:00.001+01:00

and here we go again for another round of ragnatela (spiderweb), the market of self-production! sunday 7 march 2010 from 10 am til sundown at the social center “la salette,” via romolo e remo 45, soccavo (naples).

besides the market of handmade products and organic foods, there will be activities for children, taste testing, films, music, the presentation of a board game on the mediterranean diet and a meeting of donne con le gonne. i will be there with my washable hygienic products. come stop by; tell me you saw this blog post and you’ll get a 10% discount!

for more info, go see the ragnatela’s blog or the event on facebook.

sunshine award! thank you!

2010-03-04T14:13:00.001+01:00

a gazillion thanks to rachele, otherwise known as poppy, for this award! she also gave me some wonderful compliments that i don’t feel i deserve at all! rachele makes (and sells!) fabulous bags and i’m anxiously awaiting a tutorial on using natural cloth dyes (she manages to create gorgeous colors!), so go check out her blog!

i realize that i should pass this award on to other bloggers, but i’m very tired and a bit nervous about some personal matters and i just don’t feel up to it. therefore i’m nominating all of you who are reading this because i’m so lucky to have so many talented people among my contacts! thank you, all of you!

clothespin apron

2010-03-01T17:36:00.001+01:00

it looks as if spring is just starting here in southern italy…yah! i just love the sun and the arrival of my favorite season makes me feel great. i spent a lot of time this past sunny weekend out on the balcony with my hands covered with potting soil and hanging out lots of laundry.

i’ve already written about how much i love hanging out laundry, but i didn’t find it very comfortable always having to bend over to get the clothespins out of the basket i keep them in. then one of the many books i recently ordered arrived, one-yard wonders, with 101 projects to make with just one yard (more or less a meter) of fabric. to start out, i decided to make the granny’s clothespin apron with some fabric that i got my last trip to the states and that i love so much. the end result is very convenient (though it’s unfortunately not quite as cute when it’s full of clothespins), but i was pretty annoyed because the pattern and instructions had some mistakes and so it didn’t come out perfectly. this book has a lot of really cool projects and ideas, but it seems that the one i did wasn’t the only one with mistakes. the publisher’s website has a list of corrections to the book. what a shame!

shall i talk about miss hobby, too?

2010-02-22T19:55:00.001+01:00

a lot of us italian artisans already use or at least know of the new website for selling handmade wares, Misshobby. it’s a sort of international etsy, but in which you can change both language and currency. in my opinion, this site is very very interesting because, even though etsy is absolute amazing and you can use it all over the world, it works exclusively in english and with us dollars. and this is a huge issue for a lot of people.

the only problem is that Misshobby is still brand new and so there are still a lot of technical inconveniences. but bit by bit, the team is taking care of most of the problems. to make up for it, they’re offering a free store and exemption from paying sellers’ fees (two things that are a significant cost for etsy and ebay sellers) forever to those who open a store in these first few months. i of course took advantage of this offer and opened up a store, too. even though there are still relatively few users, i’ve already had two orders and i’ve also bought something (these very cool slippers, made by gabrycreazioni) and everything went just fine.

alessia, one of my favorite bloggers, has hosted a few debates about this website, the latest of which you can see here.

i would suggest that you all go at least take a look because, in my opinion, misshobby has the potential for a very interesting future and is already filling up with lots of wonderful items handmade in italy, and not only.

a field of flowers

2010-02-14T17:04:00.001+01:00

we started talking about carnival a month ago. first my little girl wanted to be a princess, then a fairy, then hello kitty. but in the end i got a nasty tummy bug that kept me out of action for most of this past week…the week that i’d planned on making her costume. luckily, i remembered the costume that i’d sewn her two years ago.

so sofia, once again, dressed up as a field of flowers, much to everyone’s happiness!

the costume wasn’t at all hard to make. i made a rectangle from green cotton (the field) with a central opening for the head to fit through. but in order for it to fit through, the slit had to be pretty wide, so i put on a couple of tiny snaps to keep it closed when on.

then i sewed on petals and centers of colored fleece. i love sewing with fleece! it’s so easy to use and it doesn’t fray, so you don’t have to bother folding over edges.

but it didn’t seem like enough. it needed a hat.

i made the head shape with three pieces of cotton. i didn’t put elastic in it, but it really could’ve used it to keep it on better. then i sewed the big petals, turned them and sewed them on top, and covered the edges with the flower center.

two years ago, my little girl was really little (18 months) and she didn’t really like wearing the “field” part of the costume. so i made some leaves to go around her neck or waist so she could be just a flower.

the same cotton, sewn with batting inside to make them a bit more puffy. after turning them right side out i sewed in the veins and sewed the raw edges inside the long strip of cotton.

i’ve always liked this costume because it’s totally unique (there are really way too many princesses out there during carnival and halloween!).

but another great thing is that it’s not form fitting, so you can use it more than one year! a life saver!

and the winners are….!

2010-02-08T09:59:00.001+01:00

i ended my first blog candy this morning. i’m very very happy with the success that it had… in the past three weeks 77 different people (bloggers and non) entered! so, using the point system (each person could enter up to three times), there were exactly 150 entries!! i made a numbered list of the entries in chronological order of when the comment was left (if anyone wants to check how i did it, you can download the file here) and then i generated a random sequence of numbers between 1 and 150 using random.org.

and the results were:

so, first prize (a set of cloth hankies and the choice between the coasters, cloth menstrual pads or cloth diapers) goes to number 47, that is… (drumroll):

lo from galline 2nd life!!

second and third prizes (a set of cloth hankies and two produce bags)go to number 74 and 71, therefore:

davide and francesca from equazioni

and

eli from abchobby

congratulations to the winners! and thank you everyone for entering!

candy extension and market

2010-02-06T10:45:00.001+01:00

when i started up my blog candy 3 weeks ago, i set the end of today as the deadline. i’ve decided to extend it by one day because tomorrow, 7 february, i will be participating in “the fair of imaginary solutions” ragnatela*clandestina from morning til night. so not only will i not have time to do the drawing, but i will also need to temporarily take some of my products out of my online stores (from which the winners can choose their prize). therefore, there’s an extra day to enter! pass it on!

so, tomorrow is the monthly market la ragnatela (spiderweb). this month will be very interesting because it will take place in the comboniani missionaries in castelvolturno, who are very involved in helping local african immigrants. in addition to the regular market of artisan-made and organic foods that will be open from 10 am, there will be various presentations of books and videos, as well as activities for kids.

seeing as i highly doubt that anyone who’s reading this english version of my blog (and therefore doesn’t speak italian) will be going, and that i really don’t have time to translate everything, if you are interested see the post on the italian side of my blog!

so come one, come all! c/o Casa del Bambino Missionari Comboniani, Via Domitiana Castel Volturno (CE) www.neroebianco.org tel. 3289739045 (gianpietro.PAZ)

can’t resist!

2010-02-05T18:12:00.001+01:00

ok, so it’s getting a little obsessive, this whole participating in blog candies thing! but there are so many cool blogs out there (many of which i am just now seeing for the first time with my candy), and i just can’t resist! here are another two::

vabo design is celebrating a birthday by giving away a pincushion, a package of lavender and a very cool handmade hello kitty piece of chalk. rush on over by the 15th of february 2010.

martina from confessions of a sewing addict made a fabulous bag that she’s giving away. get there before more or less the 10th of february.

cardboard play house

2010-02-03T12:53:00.000+01:00

this year i gave my husband an ikea armchair for christmas. he was about to flatten the huge box to put out with the recyclables, but i stopped him. after all, you don’t get a box this big every day and i absolutely needed to use it for something or other. later, playing around, we put my daughter inside, and i thought that we should make a little house out of it.

i put the box on its side and opened the top flaps. there was an extra piece of cardboard the size of the base of the box, so i used transparent packaging tape to attach this piece to three of the top flaps. the fourth flap became the door.

my daughter and her cousin helped me plan out where to put the windows and what shape to make them. i cut them out with a box cutter.

it was too hard to open and close the door from inside, so i traced around an empty toilet paper roll, cut out the hole, stuck in the tube and put tons of glue on it.

sofia’s cousin thought that such a complex house needed a nice chimney. so i took four of the pieces cut out from the windows and taped them together. i placed it on the roof and traced around the inside of the square. i cut it out and taped the chimney on the inside.

and i have to give it to alessandro… that chimney looks great and lets in a pretty cool light!

the kids then went at decorating and personalizing the house. there’s the sign with their names. the doorbell. the signs prohibiting the cat from going in (she just couldn’t resist scratching up the house’s floor). the pictures hung on the wall. all sorts of pictures and stamps directly on the walls.

i really loved this project, and i still do. not just because the kids had something new to play with and they, and all the other kids who come by our place, play with it for hours on end, filling it with dolls, toys, furniture, food, etc. hiding inside. organizing birthday parties for stuffed animals inside. not just because they actively participated in building it, using their own creativity and problem solving skills. not just because they learned how satisfying it is to make something out of “nothing.” not just because we had so much fun making it without spending a cent.

one of the reasons i loved this project so much is because i learned something very important, too. you see, i grew up without much money and i’ve always envied people who could afford all those things that i never could have. now we’re not rich or anything, but we have enough money to get by without any real issues. but it’s hard to change old habits, and too often i get stung by the envy of what other people around me have. one of the things that i’ve recently envied is a play house made completely of wood, painted and furnished that a friend of mine had made for her girls. so, making this house, i had envisioned taking control, leaving the kids out of it, so i could paint it and make it “perfect” and therefore feel the satisfaction of (subconsiously) competing with this friend of mine.

when my nephew started gluing his pictures on the walls of the house, i stopped for a second. then i said, “oh…ok, we can always take those off another day so we can paint it and make it really beautiful.” he stopped, looked me in the eye and said with a little voice, “but, it’s already beautiful the way it is…” and suddenly i realized that this 7-year-old was absolutely right. this house was the most beautiful thing ever created because we made it ourselves, all together, with our own creativity and lots of love, and we had tons of fun. and what could be more beautiful than that?!

i want to participate too!

2010-02-01T12:01:00.001+01:00

bismama is offering a very cute and useful gift for people who have kids: a kit for making a plaster handprint! as i did in my candy (which is still going!), every person can enter up to three times. deadline: 14 february

valentina from parole di latte has some great news (but you need to read to find out what it is!) and to excuse a bit of time that she didn’t write on her blog, she’s offering the book "Nonsolomamma. Diario di una mamma elastica con due hobbit, un marito part-time e un lavoro a tempo pieno" by De Lillo Claudia. deadline: 10 february

linda da pane, amore e creatività is also offering something very useful for anyone with a toddler: a gate to put on your stairs. i am not actually participating in this because we don’t have stairs in our place or any other place that we would need to block, but i wanted to let you all know anyway! deadline: 12 february

upcycled picture frame

2010-01-23T10:31:00.000+01:00

last summer while fishing around in my nephew’s toys, my daughter found one of those magnetic doodler things. the part that goes up and down to erase the picture was blocked. i managed to unblock it so it could be used again, so my nephew gave it to us.

then, a few weeks later, it blocked up again, but this time for good.

as everyone already knows, i don’t like to throw anything away. so i took it apart.

i cut a rectangle from an overhead projector transparency and taped it on three sides to the top of the flat magnetic part so that it made a sort of envelope.

in went the photo…

…and onto the wall as a picture frame! this doodler already had a hole on the back for hanging, so it was really easy. the only problem was that i didn’t think beforehand that i would need to cut the photo to fit it inside, so i didn’t get it printed large enough. but that can obviously be taken care of easily. besides that, i think it’s a pretty nifty little frame! and free!

blog candy participants

2010-01-19T17:35:00.000+01:00

wow! i’m pretty psyched to see how many nice people have commented and entered my first giveaway!

i’ve decided to start figuring out who the participants are and figuring out how many times each entered. it’s possible to enter up to 3 times: once for commenting on the original candy post and following the blog in some way; once for writing about the blog candy in your own blog; and once for putting a link in your blog’s sidebar. you just have to do it by the end of 6 february 2010. (for reasons that i explained here, you can now enter until the end of 7 february 2010!)

down below there you’ll see a list of all the people who’ve entered so far (and i’ll update it day by day) with the number of times their name will be entered. i also put links to those who have blogs so that everyone can see just how many great blogs there are! so if you entered, make sure i got the right number of “points” for you. seeing as i went through a lot of people/blogs, i might’ve messed up somewhere along the line! if this is the case, obviously let me know and i’ll be sure to fix it asap!

another thing: i got a few comments from people but without any sort of link or e-mail. i haven’t put those people in the running because, if they win, i have no way of finding them again! so please remember, if you don’t have a blog, leave me and e-mail of some other way to track you down!

giulia x 3	katia x 3	paola x 2
nereashop x 3	recuperando x 2	shanny bananny x 1
anna x 3	bismama x 2	fata azzurra x 3
cristina x 2	barbara x 3	federica x 3
rogerfromplymouth x 1	taced x 1	sonia x 3
aurora x 2	alessia x 2	che birba x 2
silvia x 3	giuliana x 2	lo x 3
bulika x 2	iana x 1	gail x 1
simo x 1	ukka x 2	vale x 2
beta x 3	benedetta x 1	poppy x 2
la mela in tasca x 2	sbrodolina x 3	abchobby x 3
equazioni x 2	betsabè x 3	annadrai x 2
francesca79 x 2	monicot x 1	dolci a …gogo!!! x 2
-cipi- x 2	gemma x 1	leideesognate x 2
sissi x 1	lilly x 2	ork'idea atelier x 1
linda x 2	scricci_scricci x 1	milena x 1
roberta filava x 2	amrita x 2	lindawatts x 1
sandra x 2	regina x 1	valeria x 1
i sogni nel cassetto x 2	sibia x 2	rachele x 1
yummymummy x 3	barbara x 2	robygiup x 2
mariana x 2	denny x 2	patfi x 2
CLA x 3	mamma c x 3	mamma f x 3
martina x 1	trilli.tri x 1	simonetta x 1
rossella x 2	eli x 2	valentina x 3
maria x 1	merenesite x 1	michaela x 2
maria isabel x 2	karin x 1

last revised 6 february 2010

cucicucicoo turns 1! let’s celebrate!

2010-01-16T17:05:00.001+01:00

it feels like just yesterday but at the same time years ago that i started this blog adventure. but it was actually exactly one year ago today! happy birthday, cucicucicoo! during this year i’ve celebrated other blogs with their blog candies, so i decided to have one too and give something to three of my blog (or non-blog) friends to celebrate!

that something for the first place winner will be a set of 6 coasters made with chalk cloth. this type of cloth can be written on with chalk, just like a normal chalkboard. then you erase it with a cloth or you can clean it even better with a damp cloth.

you can write every guest’s name on them so you don’t get your glasses all mixed up, or just draw/write whatever you want on them.

then something that i know all of us need these cold wet days: cloth handkerchiefs. this is a set of 4 hankies (25 x 25 cm) made from super soft cotton flannel, super gentle on our poor red noses. i chose a cherry pattern to remind us of the colors and flavors of summer. (but if cherries don’t float the winner’s boat, i have other patterns that he/she can choose from)

here they are, ready to be used and loved!

or, if the winner prefers he/she can choose 3 cloth menstrual pads or 2 cloth pocket diapers that i have on sale in my online shops. right now i sell on cloth pad shop and etsy, but i confess that i need to update them. i also just opened a shop on miss hobby, but there’s still hardly anything listed there yet. i promise that i will have the stores ready by the end of the giveaway in case the winner prefers this alternative.

the second and third place winners on the other hand will receive a set of 4 cloth hankies (again, with choice of pattern) and 2 reusable produce bags, like what i made here.

here are the rules of the game:

1. leave a comment on this post and become a follower of the blog or subscribe to its feed. you don’t need to have a blog to do this. and that’s all you need to do to enter the giveaway. if you don’t want to leave a comment for privacy reasons, just send me an email: cucicucicoo@gmail.com.

2. if, after you’ve become a follower of the blog, you write about this blog candy in your blog with the image of the candies above and a link to this post, i will put you in the running not once, but twice! (but please leave a link to your post in your comment here)

3. if, after taking care of points 1 and 2, you feel up to putting a link in your blog’s side bar with the candy image, i will enter you yet again. so, it’s possible to enter this contest a total of three times!

4. and that’s it! the deadline is 6 february 2010. the 7th i will check out how many “points” everyone has, i’ll randomly choose the winners and i’ll let you all know who the lucky three are! (change in plans! i’ve decided to count up all the participants and their points as we go along. check here to see if i actually counted right!) (another change in plans! for reasons that i wrote out here, the deadline has been changed to the end of the 7th of february 2010. an extra day!)

**just a little note: technically there are actually two blogs, this one in english and the one in italian. but the giveaway is just one. for me it makes no difference if you leave your comment on and link to the italian or english one, but i won’t enter the same person in twice as many times if you do it on both like a sneaky sneak!! ;)

so: get ready…set … GO!!!!!

revised 6 february 2010

thanks so much beta! and 3 blog candies!

2010-01-14T23:50:00.001+01:00

i was lucky enough to have won second place in bim beta bum’s blog candy last month! the first prize winner won a very cute carry-everything-you-can-imagine and we second and third placers were promised a nice surprise. and what a nice surprise i received this morning!

a crochet needle carrier made of leather and fabric! the colors are very pretty together and it’s all put together so nicely. two cloth covered buttons (made with elena fiore’s method, i asked beta) keep it closed. on the inside there are slots for the needles. and the inner pocket closes with velcro. it came packages so nicely and with a very sweet card. thank you so much, beta!!! and anyway who reads italian, i suggest you go straight to her blog if you don’t already know it, because it’s full of great ideas and lovely words!

so, seeing as i now am feeling candy-lucky, here are another three that i asked to participate in (click on the images to go right to the candy announcements):

poppy from le borse di poppy is offering one of her very pretty bags with her cloth flowers on it. or pins, again with flowers. if you want to participate, you have to make an attempt to be funny. i attempted, but don’t think i was very successful… deadline: 18 january 2010, 5 pm

francesa from certain creatures is giving away a necklace with a very cute bird hand painted on it (by her, obviously) and some pretty glass flowers, not to mention a very special magic wand! deadline: 20 january, midnight

i’ve just discovered silvia from il gatto mammone who makes felt objects. her jewelry is really simple, but beautiful. you can use them in any sort of situation, whether it be elegant or casual. and she’s giving away one of these necklaces for her birthday. deadline: 24 january 2010

thank you to all three of you!

i don’t want to buy any more gifts!

2010-01-09T11:57:00.001+01:00

even though i was sick in the holiday period, i tried to make as many gifts as possible by hand. i’m sick of buying stuff in stores. do we really have to be such consumers? enough is enough!

first of all i made a hooded bunny towel for my little girl. it actually was supposed to be an easter gift (i started it months and months ago) and then it ended up laying around in pieces all this time. i copied an l.l.bean frog hooded towel that my mother had given to her a couple of years ago. it’s a rectangle of terry cloth with paws at the corners and a hood with long ears, a little nose and button eyes.

i also made some pillows with 100% upcycled materials (there’s a tutorial here). the one on the right was my husband’s shirt which was still in great condition except for a destroyed collar. it was a shame to just throw it away. the one on the left was a very used (and loved) fleece sweater of my husband’s. i actually made it for someone else, but i realized when it was done that it was a bit too used to give away, so we kept it for ourselves. and i found out that fleece makes a wonderful pillow cover! i love to hug it…it feels like i’m hugging my hubby!

the inner pillows are made of old tshirts filled with scraps of fabric left over from my sewing adventures. this one cracks me up, it looks like my husband’s chest, with his t-shirt inside his fleece! then i also made pajama pants for my daughter from the fleece sleeves, but i’ll have to write about that adventure another day.

seeing as i was sick, i did everything really rushed and i wasn’t able to take pictures of everything before giving them away. for example, i made a whole bunch of 100% upcycled potholders (old jeans and my mother-in-law’s old dress) for a couple of relatives and my daughter’s three teachers. my sister- and mother-in-law recognized the dress material right away and had a good laugh at it. i used the tutorial that i wrote quite a few months back because i couldn’t remember what dimensions to use, and… whoops! i realized that i’d written them down wrong! i corrected it in the original post, but i hope that nobody actually did it as i wrote it…sorry about that! :)

happy holidays! befana stockings

2010-01-06T16:44:00.000+01:00

best wishes to all of you out there! as anyone at all catholic (or living in a catholic community) knows, today is epiphany. i know i missed sending out new year’s wishes, but i hadn’t been able to write anything because i had tracheitis, which caused me to get a fever 4 times in less than a month and a terrible cough, in addition to being incredibly tired and weak. i finally got put on a horrible cocktail of medications, and there i am again!

so, today is ephiphany. as tradition has it in italy (or at least southern italy), a witch called “la befana” comes to kids’ houses the night before, santa claus-style, and leaves gifts and stockings with all sorts of goodies. but adults also prepare stockings with candy and whatnot for kids that aren’t their own (or even adults). seeing as i haven’t been quite up to par recently and my brain is still a bit on the slow side, i knew that my husband had taken charge of our own family’s befana business, but i confess that i totally forgot about our niece and nephew. whoops….

so when i remembered this morning, i quickly made up paper stockings as alessia from alessia, scrap & craft did. i also made paper stockings last year, but the edges were held together by staples, which wasn’t the most efficient (or aesthetically pleasing) way to do it. alessia, on the other hand, use the paper that fresh loaves of bread are sold in here in italy and sewed it together. pure genius! (and as it seems i wasn’t the only one to think so; alessia just put up a new post with links to other sites writing about her idea.)

instead of using bread paper, i used a paper bag. i pinned the two parts together and sewed it with a zig zag stitch. i didn’t put the loop to hang the stockings because i was lazy (and incredibly rushed!). then i had my daughter draw on them and i filled them with homemade molasses cookies (after packing them up in re-used plastic bags).

it really took very little time to make these stockings up and the end result was quite satisfying, not only for me, but also for the kids! thanks, alessia, you’re always full of great ideas!!

merry christmas with a 100% upcycled advent calendar

2009-12-24T15:44:00.000+01:00

happy holidays to all of you out there!

i’ve been wanting to write about my advent calendar for the past few weeks or so, but i never had the time and now it’s a bit late, but i guess it’s always an idea for next year!
this year i saw a lot of ideas for making advent calendars, that is, the type that you open up a door or something else to get a little gift each day of december before christmas. but in the end i decided to copy the 3-D calendar that my mother had for me when i was little. but with 100% upcycled materials, of course!

so first i got the biggest (and cleanest) cardboard box i could find from the trash and cut out the shape of a tree with 6 branches per side. then i traced the shape onto another part of the cardboard to get two pieces more or less the same. then i made a slit from the top down to the middle on one and a slit from the bottom up to the middle on the other. that way they slide into each other and can stand up. and finally, a cardboard star with a slit from the bottom to slip it on top. then my little girl and i painted the tree green and the star yellow. when the star paint was still wet, i put it in a plate of gold glitter.

when it was completely dry, we decorated the tree with glitter glue. then i put the numbers 1 to 24 on the branches. this way each branch is the day that you open the little goodie inside.

and now for the “packages.” i thought a lot about what to use. after a while i thought of using plastic easter eggs, the ones used for easter egg hunts in the USA, but it didn’t seem particularly upcyclish. then i thought of the inner eggs in kinder eggs. i heated up the tip of an ice pick on the gas burner on the stove and burned a little hole in the top of each egg. then i put a little loop through each hole to hang them from and then the fun part of decorating them with sequins, ribbon, sharpies, etc. the one thing i learned didn’t work well was glitter glue, which wipes right off the plastic surface. i don’t buy kinder eggs for my daughter, so i had to ask all our small friends to save theirs for us to use, which is why our calendar is still half-empty. oh well, we’ll be ready next december for sure!

so, i’ll let you get on to your celebrations and wish you all the happiest of holidays!!

market cancelled and market that is never cancelled

2009-12-19T14:30:00.001+01:00

dang it! this nasty weather has forced the christmas market in naples to be cancelled. let’s hope that the weather will cooperate to hold it another day soon, although i doubt it will.

fortunately there is an artisan market that never closes, not even for the worst blizzard. and that would be etsy. i recently mentioned how i opened my own etsy store (even if there are a lot of things still missing from it… we all know how hard it is to organize things at christmas time!) but today let’s not talk about me, but about KATIA! katia is the blogger behind mille idee in una tazza, a very cool blog about ecological crafts and other things. and katia also has a nice etsy store. she proposed we do an etsy exchange. in exchange for a regular cloth pad, she sent me a pair of glass earrings, a ring made from a button from the 70s and a bird for the christmas tree made out of recuperated materials. all packed up very nicely (and in an empty kinder egg, what i’m stocking up on for my advent calendar, which i’ll write about soon) with a very nice card. i say i got the better end of the deal!

i like all three things, but the one i love the most (and has gotten me the most comments) is the ring. it’s so simple, but absolutely perfect. i’m already thinking about ordering some more rings from her after christmas! so, i suggest that all you out there go pop in katia’s store, as well as other etsy stores, and you’ll find all sorts of wonderful gift ideas, and not only for christmas. thanks again, katia!

market madness!!

2009-12-14T23:00:00.001+01:00

…and just in time for christmas. i know i sure haven’t managed to make all the gifts i wanted for my near and dear ones. thank goodness for markets with artisans selling their handmade goods!!

soooo, this weekend i will be participating in not one, but TWO markets:

SATURDAY 19 DECEMBER in NAPLES there will be design, trash ‘n’ jewels’ x-mas market, a market of unique handmade objects, perfect for christmas gifts. it will be open from 12 noon til 11:30 pm at La Controra, p.tta trinità alla cesarea, 231 (off of via salvator rosa). you can also get there with the metro (who in the world wants to get stuck in christmas shopping traffic?!). there’s a facebook event and a website with more info.

SUNDAY 20 DECEMBER at the LAGO D’AVERNO for the “circle of peace” meditation, there will be the market ragnatela*autoproduzioni, fiera mercato delle soluzioni immaginarie…senza mercanti (market of imaginary solutions…without merchants), at the giardino dell’orco. not only artisan-made objects, but also self-certified organic produce and other foods. it will be at the giardino dell’orco (the opposite side of the lake from the temple) from 12 noon until sunset. you can get here easily with the cumana train (get out at lucrino then walk 10 minutes), leave those cars at home! for more information, look here.

ecological surfing

2009-12-13T20:24:00.001+01:00

i’d never thought about polluting with internet or search engines. then i saw one of my facebook friends had posted a link to ecosia. every search made on this search engine saves about 2 square meters of rainforest. how does it work? i’ll let them tell you about it directly:

We earn money from clicks on the sponsored links, which are displayed next to the generic search results. Each click on one of these sponsored links generates a few cents of revenue for us. About two percent of the search requests end up with a click on a sponsored link.

The exact amount we earn depends a lot on the country. Searches from the United States generated a lot more revenue than searches in markets with less developed online advertising markets like India or Brazil. On international average we currently earn 0.13 Euro Cent per search.

We donate at least 80 percent of this money to rainforest protection project run by the WWF. The project is located in the Juruena national park. It costs only 5 Euro to protect an entire hectare of rainforest there. So based on our average earnings per search, we can save about two square meters for each search you do.

there’s a video that explains how it works very clearly. you can use it as a regular search engine or install the firefox add-on which lets you see not only how many square meters you’ve saved , but also how many have been saved by everyone. i installed it right away, you should too!

christmas stockings

2009-12-11T17:40:00.000+01:00

one of the nice things about having two cultures in one house is that you celebrate a lot more often. not only are there different holidays to celebrate, but the ones in common are often celebrated in different ways. for example, christmas. in the USA, kids leave a glass of milk and a plate of cookies out on christmas eve and hang a stocking on the fireplace. that way santa claus can come down the chimney, fill up the stockings, leave gifts under the tree and rest a moment with the milk and cookies (i always wondered, though, how santa had enough time to put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, too). then back up the chimney and on to the next house.

but the idea of santa claus started up pretty recently here in italy (there wasn’t any santa when my husband was little) and he does different things here. he doesn’t fill up any stockings, so kids don’t leave them out for him. however the “befana,” an old witch, fills up stockings the eve of epiphany a couple of weeks after christmas (the befana doesn’t exist in the US). it’s sometimes a bit complicated to try to explain these differences to my daughter without ruining the season’s magic. but in the end, she’s just happy to have her stocking filled up two times every year instead of just one. lucky kids who get to celebrate the traditions of two different cultures!

let me get to the point. very often in the united states, kids have special christmas stockings. the kids of my generation in my family had stockings that my aunt made for us, all of them similar but with different pictures. she made them out of felt and decorated with ribbons, sequins, lace, bells, etc. we always loved our special stockings. (mine is in the photo above)

unfortunately, my aunt died of cancer when i was at university and so when my daughter was born, i decided to continue the tradition for our family’s new generation. but modernizing them a little. instead of felt, i used fleece.

my brother and sister and cousins were really happy and touched to see the new stockings like the ones my aunt had made and the kids, never having met my aunt, really liked the colors and pictures made just for them. and, from what they tell me, the kids still get excited every year when it’s time to take out the stockings again.

it took me a while to make them, but i’m happy with the way they turned out. i admit that i copied the pictures from the internet. i looked for specific types of designs in google images and enlarged them on the computer to get them to the right size for the stockings. then i traced the images onto used printer paper from the monitor, cut out each part and traced the shapes onto the fleece.

i also changed the loops to hang them. the ones my aunt made were out of felt, like the rest of the stockings, and with time and the weight inside the stockings, they came apart. so i reinforced my fleece loops with ribbon sewn to them.

here’s the stocking i made for my little girl. it doesn’t look particularly complicated, but it was the one that took me the most time in the end. it was pretty tough to cut those snowflakes out.

and finally, i couldn’t leave my poor dear husband without a stocking, so i made one for him too.

next year i’ll be back to stocking making for my cousin’s expected arrival and i hope to be able to make another one for an arrival in my house, too. keep your fingers crossed!

etsy and market

2009-12-04T10:21:00.001+01:00

in a few days will be the monthly market “ragnatela” which i started participating in last month. the “market of imaginary solutions” sells organic and artisan-made local products. come on sunday december 6 from 10 am til sunset at fiume di pietra on mount vesuvius (a gorgeous place, take the road to vesuvius from herculaneum, the entrance is across the street from the entrance to the observatory). at 6 pm the documentary film "l’aeroporto fantasma" will be screened with the participation of the director giuseppe ferrara. i’ll be there with my stand. come say hi!

what’s more, i recently opened a new online store at etsy. unlike my online store at cloth pad shop, i’ll be selling all of my products, so my cloth sanitary items but also other things that I make. i still haven’t been able to list everything (i’ve been incredibly busy), but bit by bit i’ll get everything on there! as it is a site based in the USA, the prices are in US dollars, so they seem high compared to my euro prices, but they’re really the same with the official currency conversion. come take a look!

for those who don’t know etsy (it still isn’t very well-known in italy), it’s a sort of ebay, but with set prices and all the items are hand made by the sellers. there are some amazing things sold on etsy, so it can get pretty dangerous to go browsing because you want to buy everything you see!

blog barter

2009-11-26T18:14:00.000+01:00

alessia from alessia, scrap & craft had a great idea, to hold a blog barter. she offers something she made each month to someone who offers her something homemade. you need to leave a comment with a picture of whatever you’re offering her on her post. then she chooses whatever she likes the most.

alessia invited me to offer her something. i already have an idea for next time, but i just can’t make it in time for the deadline this time around. so i decided to just offer her a couple of the cloth hygienic items i sell, that is two cloth menstrual pads (machine washable), made by yours truly. there is:

one pantyliner made with cotton flannel on top, cotton terry inside and waterproof PUL underneath…

…and one regular pad, with wicking microfleece on top (which remains dry), cotton terry inside and waterproof PUL underneath.

i hope she likes them!

and happy thanksgiving to everyone out there!

blog candy extravaganza!

2009-11-23T11:19:00.000+01:00

every so often i participate in blog candies, but the other day i decided to go wild with them. one of these days i’ll set up my own. but for now i’ll just have to be happy signing up for these ones:

mercatino dei piccoli: they’re giving away one of two very cute stuffed animals. enter by november 23

mille idee in una tazza: this isn’t a candy, but an initiative for creative recycling ideas. enter by november 25

life, craftiness and everything else gives away one of these very fun mice every month! enter by the end of each month

mondoCiPi: a birthday candy with the best rules i’ve heard yet! enter by the end of november

the crafty pad: a package with stamps, ribbon, paper, etc. cool! enter by december 4

roberta filava filava: a diy candy with a kit for making her very cool pins. enter by december 8

bim bum beta: birthday candy, a carry case for paintbrushes, pens, crochet or knitting needles or whatever else (very versatile!), enter by december 17, 9:34 pm (italian time!)

ork’idea atelier: cristina is holding an eclectic competition. you need to send her a comment or email with an original idea on how to use her hearts made from old socks and other clothes. enter by december 8

another very interesting initiative: cristina from ork’idea atelier has an etsy shop, c.s. ethic design. she sells objects handmade from 100% recycled/recuperated materials, gorgeous. through january 30 she will donate a portion of her profit to a project helping out ex child soldiers. go check it out!

this candy from recuperando just ended, unfortunately, but i still suggest you go look at her blog. it’s full of amazing ideas!

100% recycled pillow

2009-11-21T22:49:00.000+01:00

these days all my energy has been going into the birth of my business with my cloth products. it’s a lot of work and a lot of thought. i haven’t slept decently in 3 or 4 nights thanks to bizarre dreams about sewing cloth diapers. and i realized that i needed to step away a moment.

so i did a project that i’ve wanted to do for a while, a christmas gift for my little girl’s nonni (grandparents). The nonni have the same love as i do for couch pillows. and i always have tons of fabric scraps to throw out. and my daughter’s old day care smock (kids in italy wear this type of smock through elementary school). so i decided to make a pillow out of 100% re-used materials.

this is a pretty simple project, great for gifts, which uses up old clothes and rags or scraps of fabric. you need a button-down shirt (or smock!), a shirt without buttons and lots of scraps. and here’s how you do it:

1. cut a square about 45 cm across from the buttoned shirt (back and front), avoiding the sleeves. these will make the pillow cover. this smock had a back pleat which was partly open, so i had to sew it up in the back.

2. next take the non-buttoned shirt (here my husband’s old polo which was not only stained but shrunk). this becomes the actual inner pillow. draw and cut out a square a bit bigger than the cover.

3. put the pieces of the non-button shirt together, good sides facing each other, pin and sew up the edges, leaving an open space. i always suggest doing an extra zig zag stitch around the edges in case you wash it, so you don’t risk the edges fraying.

4. now for the stuffing! take the scraps of fabric and cut them up into smaller pieces. i used scraps of PUL, microfleece and suedecloth that i use to make cloth diapers and menstrual pads. they’re synthetic materials, and therefore not recyclable. but if you want to use your cushion for sleeping, it’s probably better to use natural fiber fabrics. turn the empty pillow right side out and stuff it with the scraps. when it’s full, sew the open seam closed. and there’s your pillow!

5. now the pillowcase. again, put the two pieces of the button-down shirt together with right sides facing and pin them. be careful to keep the strip with buttons flat. sew all four sides of the square shut. sticking your fingers in the gaps between buttons, unbutton it and turn right side out. and there’s your pillow cover.

6. put your pillow inside the pillowcase and you have a lovely new pillow! this type of pillow is heavier than those regular synthetic pillow stuffers, but i’m sure you’ll be really happy knowing that you used only materials that would’ve otherwise been thrown away!

and here’s the end result (with another two pillows with pillow cases that i sewed a few years back). have fun!

info against disposable diapers

2009-11-21T18:01:00.002+01:00

thanks to barbara, i saw this page with data regarding dangerous chemicals in disposable diapers reported by GREENPEACE. very interesting. (but in italian. sorry anglophones!)

a nice award!

2009-11-21T17:14:00.003+01:00

yah! aurora from ganchillo y fieltro has given me an award! first of all, i suggest you all go look at her blog, which always has lots of very cool things!

so, these are the rules of the game:
1) say who sent you the award
2) pass it on to 14 virtual friends
3) respond to the 10 questions.

so, the 14 lucky beloved blogs are:

and here are the 10 questions:
1) what animal would you like to be reincarnated to?
a tiger. i brought my daughter to a circus the other day and seeing the tigers' bodies jumping really entranced me. so big, but so delicate.
2) who or what can't you do without?
(beware, very cliched response coming) my daughter, but also my hubby. (however much an obvious response, it's really true!)

3) what do you appreciate most in a person?
the ability to be open to new and different ideas and experiences

4) what color do you like to wear?
let's just say that as long as it's a bright color, it's good. i love mixing up different colors together. but there are also those days when the ever-classic all black is necessary.

5) describe yourself in 3 words:
curious, stubborn, creative
6) a trip you'd like to take:
a coast-to-coast across the US

7) favorite quote:
there are two that have really helped me in the past few months:
this, too, will pass. (there's a great discussion of this quote in "a new earth")
do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. (epicurus. the italian version of the quote is longer and even more intense, but i can't find it translated into english anywhere and i hate to butcher epicurus translating it myself)

8) what would you like to do:
be able to leave my "real" job (teacher) to dedicate myself full time to my newborn business of cloth products.

9) if you can't do that, what else would you like to do?
be happy with my "real" job!

10) what eccentricity do you have?
hmm...let's just say that about 50% of the things i do/am; the other 50% of the things are terribly banal!

handmade creativity's blog candy

2009-11-19T10:04:00.001+01:00

taced from handmade creativity has decided to have a blog candy with a prize of a nice frame she decorated. and of course i'm participating! go check it out!

jerusalem artichokes

2009-11-16T11:04:00.002+01:00

i realize that recently i've only been writing about my work things and my products for sale. i've been quite busy, but i'd like to quickly write about something absolutely marvelous that i discovered at the market last week: jerusalem artichokes (or topinambur). if you do a google, you'll find that this tuber is full of wonderful things for you and if you try it, you'll find it's super yummy! raw it's sort of like a mix between a carrot and a potato, but it's just fabulous cooked. at the market i tried it fried, and it was so sweet and soft! at home i prepared it another way that was really good, with seitan:

Seitan with topinambur and bulgur
1. wash the topinambur with a veggie brush. then grate it.
2. saute a crushed clove of garlic in extra virgin olive oil in a large frying pan. then add the grated topinambur. continue sauteeing until the topinambur becomes softer and sweet.
3. start cooking the bulgur. heat up water (1 or 1.5 times the volume of bulgur) in a little pot with a bit of salt. when it boils, add the bulgur and a bit of olive oil and lower the heat to simmer. let it cook 2 or 3 minutes and then turn off the heat, leaving it covered so it can continue cooking.
4. cut the seitan into little pieces and add to the topinambur. saute everything until the seitan starts getting a little crunchy outside. add a little salt or soy sauce, but not too much, while it cooks another couple of minutes.
5. mix everything and eat with great joy!

sorry that i don't have any pictures, but it's a really healthy and delicious meal. try it!

FREE pad lottery!! + discounts!

2009-11-13T10:09:00.002+01:00

i've fixed up my store at cloth pad shop europe! seeing as i've made all new styles of cloth pads, the old ones are all discounted by €2 each to make space for the new ones. and that's not all! i've also set up a lottery for an organic bamboo pantyliner (in the photo above). all you have to do is add it to your cart and december 1st the cart system will automatically choose one lucky person to get it for FREE! all that needs paying is the €3.50 for shipping, but this cost is the same no matter how many items you order. there are also cloth nursing pads and wet bags. don't miss out! come check it out!

cloth diapers

2009-11-09T12:04:00.009+01:00

For those who don’t use cloth diapers, the idea of being in close contact with your child’s p&p (pee and poo) isn’t that pleasant; however it’s… totally natural.

Disposable diapers are a relatively new invention which became the norm only in the past two generations. For millennia parents used cloth rags to keep their children clean or even nothing at all. Today we’re lucky to have lots of types of cloth diapers using specialized fabrics with different qualities. Cloth diapers are easy to use, perfectly hygienic and much better for your little one’s health and the environment.
Today’s diapers are no longer what they used to be, and there are no more excuses not to use them!

Why use cloth diapers?

TO PROTECT OUR PLANET These days nobody can deny that the environment is in critical condition: its non-renewable resources won’t last forever. The production of the disposable diapers used by a single child in one year requires 250 cups (560 l) of oil, 286 pounds (130 kg) of plastic, 440-880 pounds (200-400 kg) of wood pulp, and huge amounts of water and energy.
In the 1990s The Landbank Consultancy, an English organization, examining the results of a study concluded that, compared with one cloth diaper, the production of a single disposable diaper requires:

2.3 times more water
3.5 times more energy
8.3 times more non-renewable materials
90 times more renewable materials
from 4 to 30 times more land to grow the plants for materials.

And we need to remember that at each diaper change all those resources get literally thrown away, while a cloth diaper gets reused hundreds of times. A disposable consumes 70% more energy than a cloth diaper per change. And don’t forget that diapers are sold in plastic packaging: more trash.
Disposable diapers greatly contribute to the ongoing crisis of overflowing landfills. Let’s consider that a single child uses an average of 8 diapers per day his first year of life, 6 the second and 4 the third, therefore 6,570 diapers in three years. Each child therefore contributes 2,414 pounds (1,095 kg) of dirty diapers to our landfills. We’re talking MORE THAN A TON!! Only in 2008 576,000 babies were born in Italy, according to Istat. That means 630,720 TONS of disposable diapers are lying in landfills, ONLY FOR THE BABIES BORN IN ONE YEAR in a single country (the least prolific, at that).
It wouldn’t be such a big deal if we were talking about biodegradable materials, but the truth is that disposable diapers take 500 years to decompose. That’s about 15 generations.
The materials of cloth diapers (with the exception of the waterproof layer), after being used hundreds of times, are recyclable and biodegradable.
What’s more, disposables contain lots of chemicals which, besides being harmful to your health, while sitting in landfills get absorbed by the soil and contaminate the ground water, and sooner or later come right back to us.
The diapers that we throw in the trash also hold other less hidden substances: your child’s p&p. While herbivores’ poo, for example from donkeys or birds, is often used as fertilizer and enriches soil, carnivores’ poo (ours) contains viruses that can contaminate the ground water or insects, and therefore be retransmitted to humans and animals. P&p needs to be disposed of in a toilet so it can be treated properly.

TO PROTECT YOUR HEALTH The chemicals in disposables, before ending up in landfills to contaminate soil and water, are pressed against your baby’s bum’s soft and sensitive skin. 24/7. This often causes diaper rash but can also cause allergies and other ailments.
It’s important to remember that most of these substances are used to create more absorbency: but leaving a wet diaper in contact with a cihld’s skin for much time can causes skin irritation and bacterial infections.

TO SAVE MONEY A lot of people are wary of using cloth diapers because of their cost. It’s true that they require a bigger investment at the beginning, but let’s look a moment at how much disposables cost. If the average pack has 24 diapers and costs €7 and, as we’ve already established, a child uses an average of 6,570 diapers in his first three years of life, that adds up to €1,905, let’s say more than €2000 if we’re also using disposable baby wipes to clean up. The more expensive brands come to much more than that.
On the other hand, if you invest in cucicucicoo cloth diapers, the cost is hundreds of euros less and, reusing the same diapers for a second child, that cost is cut in half per child. Cucicucicoo diapers can be used for at least three children, if used with care.

BEACAUSE THEY’RE FUN TO USE How many colors and prints there are! Your little one will have his favorites for sure, just like his has favorite toys. After using cucicucicoo diapers for a little while, you’ll look at white disposables and… they’ll look so incredibly drab!

Debunking cloth diaper myths:

1. It’s hard to put cloth diapers on. Not at all! Cloth diapers have evolved from what our grandparents and parents used. Cucicucicoo pocket and AIO (All-In-One) diapers are super easy to use. Look below in the section “What are cucicucicoo diapers like?” to learn more.
2. It takes way too long to wash cloth diapers. Luckily most of us have access to a washing machine: you put them in, choose the program and you hang them out to dry (or pop them in the dryer). All done, and it only took a few minutes of your time. It takes more time to rush out looking for an open pharmacy after you realize that you ran out of disposables at home.
3. Cloth diapers aren’t hygienic. Disposables contain tons of chemicals which cause rashes and other irritations on genitals, not to mention all the other possible complications from such substances.
Washing cloth diapers in the washing machine in medium hot (60°C) with a prewash cleans them very well, killing bacteria. You can also add a bit of Napisan or other disinfecting additive, but it’s really not necessary.
4. Cloth diapers are expensive. A single cloth diaper does cost more than a single disposable but, seeing as cloth can be used hundreds of times, in the end cloth diapers cost much less. Look at the above section “To save money” for more information.
5. My child goes to day care and so he/she can’t use cloth. Cucicucicoo All-In-One diapers are worn just like disposables. If you explain to your child’s caretakers that they can simply put the dirty diapers in a wet bag or in a regular plastic bag to give back to you, they won’t have any problems.
6. Cloth diapers don’t absorb as much as disposables. Disposable diapers are as absorbent as they are thanks to lots of chemicals, which you obviously will not find in cloth diapers. While it’s true that cucicucicoo cloth diapers absorb a lot, it is still necessary to change them slightly more often than disposables. But remember that keeping a child in a wet diaper for much time is very bad for his poor little bum, so it’s actually much better to change it more often anyway.

What are cucicucicoo diapers like?
There are two types of cucicucicoo diapers: pocket and all-in-one (AIO). Both types come in four sizes (S, M, L, XL) and have an outer layer of PUL, cotton or polyester, in either solid colors or prints, whose backside is laminated, making it waterproof, though breathable. The lamination is on the inside of the diaper, so it never comes in contact with the child’s skin. The layer in contact with the skin is in microfleece or suedecloth. These fabrics, which are thin, super soft and stain-resistant, are wicking fabrics, meaning they pull the liquid down to the absorbent layers beneath, leaving the surface in contact with skin dry. What’s more, poo comes right off of these fabrics, so cleaning is make that much easier.
Cucicucicoo diapers close with touch tape, a very resistant velcro. There is a long strip across the front which the wings attach to. The wing pieces can be folded back to keep them from attaching to other diapers in the wash. A size label sticks out from under the velcro and the edges are finished with fold over elastic, a special elastic made for washable diapers, which gathers along the legs and the back to better fit the child’s body and keep the diaper’s openings closed.
Cucicucicoo POCKET DIAPERS are just that: a pocket. They consist of a single external layer of PUL and a microfleece/suedecloth one inside with an opening along the back. You need to fold an insert and slip it inside to absorb p&p. You can use the special cucicucicoo insert (sold separately) or just old t-shirts or towels you have hanging around the house. There are two sizes of cucicucicoo inserts: one for sizes S and M diapers and one for sizes L and XL. (for more information about cucicucicoo inserts, see here.) The advantages of pocket diapers are:

they cost less than AIO diapers
they air dry quickly
there are only two sizes of inserts, so you don't need to keep buying new ones
you can use more than one insert in the diaper at night, when the child wets more

Cucicucicoo ALL-IN-ONE (AIO) DIAPERS are the easiest diapers to use because they are used just like disposables, but with all the benefits of a cloth diaper. The body of the AIO consists of an external layer of PUL, inner core of absorbent cotton terry cloth, and the inside of cotton flannel. Attached to the inner backside is a fold-out soaker for extra absorbency but which opens up to wash and dry better than if it were all sewn together in one piece. This part is made of cotton flannel below, inner core of absorbent cotton terry cloth and upper surface of microfleece/suedecloth. It is this surface that the child’s skin is in contact with and which pulls wetness into the lower absorbent layers.
Because the creation of the AIO diaper is more labor intensive, the cost of the AIO is higher than that of a pocket diaper. The absorbent cores sewn on the inside also require longer periods of time for drying.
That said, it’s still worth it to have at least a few for when the child is in the care of another person who, not being used to pocket diapers, might not be willing to use separate inserts, for example at day care or with a new babysitter. The advantages of cucicucicoo AIO diapers are:

they are absolutely easy to put on the child
there’s no need for separate inserts
anybody can use them

How many cucicucicoo diapers should I have and what sizes?
A newborn dirties a lot of diapers, in average 10 per day, while older children, who eat solid food, dirty a lot fewer. I therefore suggest 25 size S diapers (6-13 pounds/3-6 kg), 15 size M (9-20 pounds/4-9 kg), 15 size L (15-40 pounds/7-18 kg) and 10 size XL (24-55 pounds/11-25 kg). Size XL might not be necessary if your child starts using the potty on the early side or if she is petite.
With this number of diapers you will need to wash every two or three days. If you buy more, you can wash them less frequently and they will last even longer. It is always advisable to have more diapers than necessary, and that way your child will also have more fun with a bigger selection of colors and prints. It’s also a good idea to buy cucicucicoo cloth wipes to clean up messes without chemicals or environmental consequences and one or two wet bags for when you’re out and about with diapers.

How do you wash cucicucicoo diapers?
There are two ways to wash cloth wipes and diapers. I use the “dry pail” method, which means you put dirty wipes and diapers into a large plastic garbage can with a locking top. When it’s full, you just dump the contents of the bucket into the washer and every two or three washings give the inside of the bucket a quick rinse and air dry.
The other method is “wet pail,” in which you fill the bucket with water (and optionally baking soda) so the articles stay wet until they are washed. I find the dry pail method eliminates odor better, is easier and wastes less water.
If there’s any poo, it’s best to dump it in the toilet before putting the diaper in the pail. Bigger kids’ poo is harder and usually falls right off the diaper and into the toilet without having to do anything else. If the poo is more liquid, as is the case with infants, you can rinse the diaper in the bidet, use toilet paper to get most of it off or use a toilet bowl brush to get it off. If you use pocket diapers, you need to take out the insert or it won’t get washed properly.
Wash the diapers with wipes if you use them, but not with any other washables, at 60°C (warm/medium-hot), which is hot enough to kill bacteria without using too much energy. Don't forget to add a pre-rinse cycle to rinse away most of the p&p. It’s important not to wash diapers with too much detergent and to add an anti-limestone additive if you have hard water to avoid the accumulation of deposits on the fabric, which reduces its absorbency; the use of fabric softener and diaper cream also diminishes absorbency.
It’s best to air dry diapers in the sun to further eliminate stains and any remaining odor, but you can also machine dry.
As with all cucicucicoo products, it is suggested that you wash them prior to use.
It really only takes a few extra minutes to use cloth diapers. Your child will have lots of fun wearing different colors and prints, and you can feel good knowing that there aren’t any chemicals in her clothes, you’re helping the environment, there’s more money in your wallet and you’ll never again have to worry about running out of diapers at 3 am!
For buying information, see the cucicucicoo products for sale post.

last updated 22 october, 2010

november 8 market moved

2009-11-08T07:58:00.002+01:00

thanks to the rain, the market i’m participating in today will be moved to

BUDDHA VILLAGE via Ripuaria 38/B uscita tangenziale VARCATURO (Giugliano in Campania_NA)

it will still be held from 10 til sunset. you can find information about buddha village si trovano here and directions here.

hope to see you there!!

cloth nursing pads

2009-11-07T11:05:00.005+01:00

Why use cloth nursing pads?

Breastfeeding is the best thing you can do to give your child a head start in life. Nobody denies that nursing is the healthiest thing for your newborn, is cheaper and more ecological than formula, creates a strong bond between mother and child and helps the mother lose pregnancy weight faster, not to mention prolongs her break from her menstrual cycle. So why would any nursing mother choose to use disposable nursing pads, with their bleached paper and plastic, to soak up the extra milk that seeps out? Why would you choose to keep a chemical product in contact with the same nipple that your infant feeds from?

Cloth nursing pads are a totally natural alternative with no synthetic materials. This means that there is more breathability, so no dry, chapped nipples or infections from bacteria growth. They are soft and comfortable, unlike crinkly disposables. They are better for the environment because they don’t need to be produced and thrown out over and over again. They can be used over and over again, for multiple babies, and when their lifespan is over, the fabric can be recycled. Nothing to be thrown into a landfill, not even packaging!

What are cucicucicoo nursing pads like?

Not only are cucicucicoo nursing pads the healthiest choice for you, your baby and the environment, they are super absorbent and fun to use! Each pad has a 5 inch (12 cm) diameter and a slight cone shape to better fit the breast. There is a special inner core for extra absorbency at the nipple without making bulky edges that can be seen through clothes.

The classic cucicucicoo nursing pad is made with plain white cotton flannel on the exterior part of the cone (1), cotton terry inner core and colorful printed cotton flannel on the interior part of the cone (2). The organic bamboo cucicucicoo nursing pad has white organic bamboo/cotton velour on the exterior cone, organic hemp/cotton fleece inner core and either white or colored organic bamboo/cotton velour on the interior cone. Nursing pads come in sets of three pairs.

How do you take care of cucicucicoo nursing pads?

Couldn’t be easier! To use, slip one inside each side of the bra. When they get wet, just dump them in with the rest of the laundry. They can be washed in warm water (up to 60°C) and either line or machine dried. Alternatively, they can be simply well-rinsed between use, though it is recommended to wash with soap or detergent every so often to avoid smelling like sour milk. If pads do start smelling, just pour a bit of white vinegar in each and machine wash. The vinegar eliminates smells (including its own) during the wash. Do not use fabric softener, which reduces the fabric’s absorbency. As with all cucicucicoo products, it is suggested that you wash them prior to use.

When out and about, bring a size small wet bag to put used nursing pads into.

Please note that, as with any type of nursing pad, whether cloth or disposable, it is advisable to change it when it gets damp to avoid the growth of bacteria or nipple infection.

For buying information, see the cucicucicoo products for sale post.

november 8 - market!

2009-10-31T09:22:00.002+01:00

on november 8 i will participate in the ragnatela*autoproduzioni market at giardino dell'orco on lake avernus, pozzuoli (NA). this market sells organic food and other products, all of which are auto-produced, and is held every month. however this month is special, being ragnatela's first birthday, and there will also be the presentation of the book "vite contadine" (12:00) and the show "storie di asini, storie di uomini" (3:00 pm). the market itself is held from 10:00 am til sunset. you can also buy using solidarity based local money SCEC. if you're on facebook, check out the event.

i will be there with my cloth hygienic products on sale (all-in-one and pocket diapers, all types of menstrual pads, baby wipes, nursing pads, wet bags, and more) and cookies to nibble. and even better, there will be a special offer: buy 5 pads, the 6th (of the same or lower price) is free!

there are lots of sellers with delicious and beautiful products. don't miss out!

doll diapers

2009-10-26T12:11:00.003+01:00

since my daughter stopped using diapers she's started putting her (washable cloth) diapers on her favorite dolls (which, by now, have more clothes than i do). but, needing more space, i wanted to get rid of the diapers without creating too much anguish for the little one. so i made her dolls some of their own diapers from scraps of fabric.

so, first of all download the pattern here. obviously it's big on some dolls and small on others. but, as opposted to real diapers and babies, it's not like we really have to worry too much about pee and poo leaking out, so what difference does it make? print the two pages, paying attention to the scale, cut them out and attach with tape. if you want a pattern that will last a bit longer, glue or trace onto a cereal box.

get a bit of fabric that you don't need anymore. i used some fleece left over from another project. i love using fleece because you don't have to finish the edges, but you can use whatever fabric you happen to have. if it's stretchy, make sure to cut so it stretches across, not vertically. then sew on a bit of velcro. the soft part goes as a strip across the front. the scratchy part goes inside the two wings. you can sew them on by hand, but it's less likely to rip off if you do it with a machine. my velcro was touch tape (a very resistent velcro that i use for cloth diapers) taken from an old diaper. that's why the long strip is actually smaller pieces sewn together to make a long strip. it's not the most beautiful thing, but i recycled this way and my daughter certainly had no complaints!

and so, there you have the "babies"'s diapers. as you can see, the dolls are different sizes, so the diapers fit differently. and finally i could pack away the real diapers for the next lucky babe to use them!

blog action day! hanging out the laundry

2009-10-15T15:43:00.003+02:00

quite often i catch myself complaining about this or that in everyday Italian life. why is it so hard to get things done?! why is everyone so closed to new and "different" ideas?! etc etc. but then every so often there are those moments that i think, thank goodness i live in this country and not in the united states anymore! and one of those moments is laundry time.

here in italy, it's absolutely normal to hang laundry outside the windows and balconies. if you don't do that, it takes up too much space to hang them inside. and who has a dryer? nobody that I know, that's for sure.

for me, the typical american way of thinking about laundry is ridiculous, so i decided to write about it for blog action day 2009, when all blogs who've signed up should write about climate change.

i recently read an article in the New York Times about the great debate, not on health care reform or all the issues of the economy, but about many residential communities in the USA which forbid residents to hang their clothes out to dry.

what?! but why in the world shouldn't they be allowed to hang out their clothes?! because in this day and age, anyone who has a washer also has a dryer and very few people still hang out clothes to dry. and when someone decides to do so, because he doesn't have the money for a dryer or for ecological reasons, it's seen as an "eyesore." it ruins the view of the community. one man said that communities make these rules so that when residents look out their windows they can see birds, flowers and trees, not their neighbors' laundry. another very charming man apparently shot and killed his neighbor because he was sick and tired of telling him to quit hanging out his clothes.

luckily, some of the more enlightened states are starting to protect those who want to protect the environment. after all, dryer use accounts for 6% of all household electricity consumption. there are new laws in some states prohibiting residential community rules not allowing laundry to be hung outside. thank goodness! and in any case, who says that laundry hanging outside has to be ugly? naples, my adoptive city, is famous for its alleyways with laundry stretching from one side to the other. and i, and many others, find it beautiful.

neapolitan laundry pictures thanks to: Ruth Burke, Scrivo Napoli, e Getty Images.

coca-soap

2009-10-11T10:29:00.001+02:00

bottle houses

2009-10-06T17:31:00.002+02:00

a couple of months ago i saw a post on one of my favorite blogs, Filth Wizardry, that i knew i'd have to do myself, too: making houses for little dolls or toys out of plastic bottles. ms. filth wizardry made them for her daughters' beloved fairies, while i made these for my daughter's beloved My Little Ponies and other small dolls.

it's super easy and a nice fun project to do together. the involved big person has to: find a big plastic bottle or two, like these bleach containers. rinse them and dry them well.

if there's still a bit of sticky gunk from the label, it's best to get rid of it with nail polish remover. i was lazy and didn't want to get up, so i skipped this. not a good idea, as you can see here.

using a fine permanent marker, draw in the doors and windows. it's better if you first check to make sure that the toys you're making this for will be able to fit in the door and look out the windows. involve the little one by asking advice as to where to put these fixtures.

use a box cutter to cut out the shapes. in one of our houses, i made two chairs and a table by cutting and folding the pieces inwards.

now use bigger permanent markers to color the edges of the windows and doors. it would be better-looking if you also colored them inside, which i didn't do. again, ask your munchkin what colors to use and how to color.

it's also nice to decorate a bit. here i put a picture on the wall. the fish is actually a sticker.

finally it's the child's turn. if you're working in an area that you don't care too much about (meaning if you don't mind permanent marker scribbles), s/he can draw flowers or other things. i confess that i was relieved when my daughter didn't want to draw. instead, she went wild with stickers.

and voilà! a couple of little houses to play with, without spending a cent!

when i showed my husband our works of art, he was shocked not only for our amazing talent (!!) but also because in the architecture course that he teaches, the students have an assignment to take an everyday object and transform it into a living space. and lots of them do the same exact thing i did. who knew?!

compost and mulch

2009-10-03T10:36:00.005+02:00

apparently, i'm not the only ecological preacher out there! the beach we went to in colombia this past summer was full of trees with inspirational messages on them. i got such a kick out of them! here it says "la idea no es limpiar mas, si no ensuciar menos," or rather "the idea isn't to clean more, but to dirty less."

this tree is saying "si me quieres no me ensucies," so "if you care about me, don't dirty me." cool, huh?!

so, here i'm writing about two idea to "dirty less." first, compost. some italian towns collect "wet" trash separately, meaning organic trash, meat and grease remains, paper napkins, etc. unfortunately they don't compost this stuff (at least not in my town), even though they couldn't really with the animal byproducts in it, but they dispose of it in some way that isn't dumping it in a landfill or bringing it to our despised local incinerator. i need to find out more about it, i honestly don't know exactly what they do with it. anyway, even doing this, it's still trash that needs to be gotten rid of. so i decided to start composting.

if you have a yard, it's super easy to pop a compost pile or bin in the corner and dump all your fruit and veggie remains, egg shells and paper napkins in it. after a while, the heat helps decompose it and after quite a few months (or years) you'll have marvelous soil, full of nutrients, that you can put back in your garden or use for potting plants. some italian towns even give out free composters to those who have a yard to use it in.

those who live in an apartment will have a bit more difficulty using a compost bin, and that's why i didn't use one myself. but then a friend of mine managed to do balcony compost, so i gave it a go as well. so, procure a bucket and a plastic bag that fits in it nicely and is wide enough to fold over the rim of the bucket (so it won't slide down or move). use something pointy (i used an ice pick) to make a bunch of holes in the bag, then put it in the bucket. first put dry twigs at the bottom. the twigs and holes let air to circulate a bit, otherwise you'll end up with some yucky, stinky mush. then you can start dumping your stuff in it. it's important to remember NOT to put any animal products in your compost (except egg shells)! put the bucket on your balcony, preferably in the shade and where the rain won't get it. leave it uncovered when possible, but if it might rain, cover it. the contents should stay dampish, but not too much. it's better if you mix it every so often and you'll see how it starts decomposing. don't worry, it won't stink if you don't let it get wet. if possible, mix in a couple of tablespoons of fireplace ashes every couple of months. it's amazing to see how so much trash can become so little soil and how much less trash you'll have. in about 6 months you'll already start to be able to use some of your awesome new soil for you balcony plants!

i grew up in a town on the atlantic ocean and it's common to take frequent walks to the beach. in our area the beaches are full of dry seaweed. my mother brings home masses of this seaweed and spreads in among her garden plants as mulch/fertilizer. it works really well, is cool-looking, is super ecological, gives the soil lots of nutrients, and is free! go mom!

so, there are another couple of ideas of how to dirty less, enriching your soil, all for free!

yersinia's blog candy

2009-10-03T09:36:00.002+02:00

seeing as i've been a bit out of the blog loop lately, i'm trying to get back into it. and this morning i found il cantuccio di yersinia, who makes different types of cool objects and also has a blog candy. thanks!

ginger and finocchietto

2009-10-02T11:30:00.003+02:00

A friend of ours has recently discovered the joy of candied ginger and tried to find a way to make it himself at home. Seeing as I like it a lot too and that ginger is really good for you, I asked him for his recipe. I tried it out and it turned out pretty well, even though it is considerably different than what you find in the supermarket.

--peel the fresh ginger root and slice it about 5mm wide.
--put the ginger in a pot, cover with water (I put enough to cover it and then doubled that), and let it boil about 20 minutes.
--drain the ginger, putting aside the boiled water. let both the ginger and the water cool.
--weigh the ginger, then put it back in the pot and cover it with the water from the first time around (which should be just enough to cover the ginger).
--when the water boils, add the same weight of sugar as there was ginger. let it boil 20-30 minutes, stirring every so often and being careful that the sugar doesn't burn. in theory the ginger should start getting a bit transparent, but we only managed to get it slightly so at the edges.
--remove the ginger and let it dry. the water is delicious cooled and used as a syrup with cold water for a refreshing drink.

Last summer we spent a few days at the beaches of Acciaroli, sleeping at Pollica, a truly beautiful place where we've gone for years. You can't help but eat super yummy stuff there and one of the things that we love is cooking with finocchietto selvatico, wild fennel flowers. It's a plant that grows in the summer with wispy green parts and yellow flower umbrellas that look sort of like Queen Anne's Lace flowers. Here's a picture of it with the background of the beautiful hills of the Cilento. I've always wanted to make liquor from finocchietto and finally I did it. Unfortunately I'm writing this a bit late, so if you want to try it, you'll have to wait til next summer. Here's how I did it:

--wash and completely dry a couple of handfuls of wild finocchietto flowers.
--put them in a jar which closes hermetically with 1 liter of alcohol. put it in a cool dry place for about 30 days.
--when the 30 days are up, make a syrup by boiling 1 liter of water with 800 grams of sugar for 15 minutes. then let it cool down.
--when it's completely cool, filter the flowers from the alcohol, mix the alcohol with the syrup and put it all back in the hermetic jar. let it sit about 4-5 days out of the light.
--filter and put it in a nicer looking bottle. wait at least 3 months before drinking.

Buon appetito!

blog action day 2009: climate change

2009-10-01T11:21:00.002+02:00

October 15 is Blog Action Day, a day in which all registered blogs write about a specific topic as it relates to their blog's topic. This year the topic is "climate change," something that I consider pretty darn important, so I registered right away. The idea is that if everyone writes on this topic at a specific time, readers can't help but read about the environment and climate change, and it's really important that everyone is well-informed not only about the environmental crisis, but also about what they can do to help out.

So I ask everyone with a blog to think about registering-- it only takes a minute!